Triumph Lingerie Gets Oeko-Tex’s Eco-Friendly Seal of Approval

One of the world's largest producers of lingerie, underwear, and loungewear is finally giving Ma Earth the support she deserves. Triumph International announced Thursday that its entire catalog of underpinnings is certified free of more than 300 harmful substances—including pesticides, extractable heavy metals, formaldehyde, carcinogenic dyestuffs, and residual surfactants—under Oeko-Tex's uncompromising textile-production standards. The Switzerland-based company, which owns the Triumph, Sloggi, Valisère, and Hom brands, along with BeeDees in Germany, applied the certifying body's social and ecological tenets across its entire supply chain, from product development to packaging.

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This additional layer of product safety is vital because underwear comes in direct contact with the skin, according to Hans-Peter Grosch, senior department head raw material management at Triumph. “Precisely in the sensitive product area of lingerie, underwear, sleepwear, and swimwear, which is always worn next to the skin and usually for many hours, it is important that harmful ingredients are consistently excluded from the outset,” he says.

The entire Triumph range now complies with with the social and ecological requirements of Okeo-Tex Standard 100.

In 2009, Triumph launched “EcoChic by Triumph,” a rotating lineup of bras, panties, and camisoles made from sustainable materials such as certified-organic cotton, bamboo, and corn, as well as nontoxic, plant-based dyes. Described by the firm as “skin-friendly and extremely comfortable to wear,” the collection is designed to reduce—or even eliminate—skin allergies and reactions.

The company, which employees 18,000 garment workers in Austria, Hungary, Portugal, Morocco, Vietnam, Thailand, India, China, Brazil, says it maintains a vigorous program to ensure humane working conditions at its production plants, which are regularly inspected through third-part audits.

“As a global company we must act responsibly towards our environment, our employees and our customers as this is the only way that we can leave something behind that we are proud of for the next generations,” says Ursula von Gunten, Triumph’s manager of corporate social responsibility.